Louie Kelcher

Louis James Kelcher (born August 23, 1953) is an American retired professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), spending most of his career with the San Diego Chargers (now the Los Angeles Chargers). He was a four-time All-Pro and a three-time Pro Bowl selection. His outstanding performance made him one of the team's most popular players from 1975 through 1983. Kelcher was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame, and is a member of the franchise's 40th and 50th Anniversary Teams. He was a graduate of Southern Methodist University and French High School in Beaumont, Texas.

Louie Kelcher
No. 74, 94
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1953-08-23) August 23, 1953
Beaumont, Texas
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:291 lb (132 kg)
Career information
High school:French High School
College:Southern Methodist
NFL Draft:1975 / Round: 2 / Pick: 30
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:116
Games started:89
Interceptions:2
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early life

Growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Kelcher was more interested in playing baseball, even though youngsters in Texas who were big typically played football. He was supposed to be eight years old to play peewee league. However, Kelcher was bigger than his peers, and the Little League president next door got him in a year early. He started playing football in junior high school. Entering high school, he was only interested in playing baseball, but the coaches placed him in football.[1]

NFL career

Kelcher was known for his immense size. Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m), he once said his weight varied between 280 pounds (130 kg) and infinity;[2] he wore size 17EEE shoes.[3] He was drafted in the 2nd round in 1975 and was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. In nine seasons (1975–1983) with the Chargers, Kelcher was selected to three Pro Bowls (1978, 1979 and 1981),[2] twice as a starter.[4] He was named All-AFC in 1977, 1978 and 1980; 1st-team All-Pro in 1977 and 1978; and 2nd-team All-Pro in 1980 and 1981.[5] In 1977, his teammates voted him the team's Most Valuable Player.[6]

Kelcher was sidelined in 1979 for all but three minutes after a knee operation.[7] He returned in 1980, teaming with fellow 1975 Chargers' draftees Fred Dean and Gary "Big Hands" Johnson as the Chargers led the NFL in sacks (60). Johnson and Dean were named 1st-team All-Pro, with Kelcher being named 2nd-team All-Pro. The trio, along with Leroy Jones formed a defensive frontline that was locally nicknamed the Bruise Brothers.[8][9] In the 1980 AFC Championship Game against the Oakland Raiders, Kelcher has 20 tackles, 10 solo and 10 assisted, and also one sack.[10] In the Epic in Miami, the 1981 divisional playoff which became one of the greatest football games ever, the Dolphins were leading 38–31 in the fourth quarter and threatening to score again at the Chargers' 20 when Kelcher stripped the ball from Miami's Andra Franklin and San Diego's Pete Shaw recovered the fumble. The Chargers rallied to force overtime and won 41–38.[11][12] Don "Air" Coryell's Chargers teams of that era are mostly remembered for its high-scoring, pass-oriented offense. The Chargers made four consecutive playoffs (1979–1982), winning three straight AFC West titles (1979–1981) and advancing to back-to-back AFC championship games.[13]

Kelcher retired in November 1983, but remained on the Chargers reserve list. The Chargers traded him to the San Francisco 49ers in March 1984. Kelcher had wanted to play again, but not with San Diego.[14] The trade reunited him with former Charger teammates Johnson, Dean and offensive lineman Billy Shields. In his final NFL season that year, the 49ers won Super Bowl XIX.[15]

Legacy

Kelcher was a favorite among Chargers fans, who greeted him at home games with cheers of "Loueeee".[16] Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts called him "the most universally beloved guy on our team."[2] Kelcher was among the first NFL defensive linemen to weigh 300 pounds (140 kg).[17] He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 2003,[18] and the Breitbard Hall of Fame in 2006.[19]

References
  1. Jackson, Michael (2014). The Game Before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built the NFL. U of Nebraska Press. p. 317. ISBN 9780803262973. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  2. Graney, Ed (July 17, 2003). "Chargers Hall of Fame finally finds space to fit in Big Louie". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C-1. Kelcher once said his playing weight fluctuated between 280 and infinity, depending on the buffet special being offered.
  3. Pascarelli, Peter (September 8, 1978). "Rating the NFL's top defenses". Poughkeepsie Journal. Gannett News Service. p. 13. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Former All-Pro defensive lineman Louie Kelcher, 28, whose unexpected..." UPI. August 3, 1982. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  5. "2012 San Diego Chargers Media Guide" (PDF). San Diego Chargers. 2012. pp. 244–45. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2013.
  6. San Diego Chargers 2012, p. 247.
  7. Zimmerman, Paul (September 8, 1980). "Afc West". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2014-01-30. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  8. "Grambling State University Loses Two Football Legends". FoxSports.com. Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. August 11, 2010. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010.
  9. "No. 16: Chargers' best draft class". ESPN.com. March 28, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2011. The 2001 class was good, but the 1975 class ranks the best. San Diego had four of the first 33 picks in the draft, and the Chargers selected three defensive linemen that would form the nucleus of "The Bruise Brothers" and once formed three-fourths of the AFC Pro Bowl defensive line.(subscription required)
  10. Smith, Rick (1981). 1981 San Diego Chargers Facts Book. San Diego Chargers. p. 45.
  11. Reynolds, Tim (January 1, 2002). "The Longest Yard". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  12. Reilly, Rick (October 25, 1999). "A MATTER OF LIFE AND SUDDEN DEATH THE 1982 PLAYOFF BETWEEN THE CHARGERS AND DOLPHINS WASN'T JUST A FOOTBALL GAME AND WASN'T A WAR, EXACTLY, BUT IT DID CHANGE A FEW PEOPLE'S LIVES". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  13. Center, Bill (July 1, 2010). "Don Coryell, ex-Chargers, Aztecs coach, dies at 85". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  14. Brown, Brian (March 29, 1984). "Chargers deal Kelcher to 49ers for low picks". The San Diego Union. p. C1. Kelcher also told Charger linebacker Cliff Thrift, a friend, that he wanted to return to football but did not want to play again for the Chargers.
  15. "Say It Ain't So". cnnsi.com. January 28, 2001. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013.
  16. Magee, Jerry (February 26, 2006). "Chargers fans had love affair with 'Loueeee'". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C-6. 'Loueeee,' Chargers crowds at Qualcomm Stadium crowds would coo, lovingly. 'Loueeee.'
  17. Plaschke, Bill (September 1, 1995). "The BIG Picture : On the Field, Those 300-Pounders Look Large Enough, but Off the Field, They Face a Different World". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  18. Magee, Jerry (November 10, 2003). "Seems like old times, circa 1980s". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C-6. Fouts showed up to offer a few words at halftime on the occasion of Kelcher being received into the Chargers Hall of Fame.
  19. sdhoc.com, San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum Archived 2009-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
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